Loose Leaf Notes

1. “We’re here to be part of the great song and we don’t even have to know the song.  We just have to know our note.” – Rumi

2. Friday night in Floyd: We met a family from France and kids were break dancing on the floor. See HERE. 

3. THIS is my guru reading from my guru.

4.  When anyone asks ‘what time is it?’ I always answer ‘4:30’ because of THIS favorite song by Van Morrison in which he says, “And I said ‘Baby what time is it, what time is it / ‘Tell me, what time is it? / ‘A-four-thirty’ / So I peeked ’round the corner, the blind / An’ there ya go / ‘There’s another girl that’s comin’ home from school / Lookin’ so cool, just learned her A’s to Z’s…”

5. I once had a bumper sticker that read “Why Be Normal?” and I hung it upside down on my car.

6. “Poetry holds the knowledge that we are alive and that we know we’re going to die.” -Poet Marie Howe

7. There’s a porcelain cup / that I took from her house / before they emptied it / Not only because “Mother” / is printed on the side / but because we both / like to hold a delicate handle / and sip from a thin lip / Now she reminds me to sweep my kitchen floor / She liked to show how much dirt / she could collect in the dustpan / as if making the world a better place… Read the rest of my newest poem The Small Things HERE.

8. Make America Rhyme Again: There’s a site called ‘Poet In Chief’ that is dedicated to giving Donald Trump’s tweets a Shakespearean twist.  Some are pretty good. See HERE.

9. Yesterday I read “18 unexpected uses for aluminum” instead of  the Wall Street Journal’s “Trump’s ‘Tapes’ Trick.”

10. But a couple of days later, I broke down and read it. It concludes: “The episode is further proof that the biggest obstacle to an effective Trump Presidency is Mr. Trump. The tweeting by itself isn’t the problem. The problem is that he thinks he can use the platform to spread misinformation as often as he tries to communicate facts about his agenda. He shouldn’t be surprised if Americans conclude they therefore can’t believe him even when he is telling the truth.”

11. That moment at the pool when you realize that your phone can take the place of a mirror and you want to see if your hat is on straight.

12. My poem “The Bite is Always Worse Than the Bark” was just published at Poets Haven HERE. 

13. It concludes with … And when you’re bit you in the ass / you have to ask “what is the metaphor / for this chewing out?” / What immunity have I been inoculated against? / What symmetry of destiny? / What betrayal?

Have you been able to tell what time the clock above reads?_____Thirteen Thursday